The invention herein relates to cellular plastic foams.
Cellular plastic foams, such as phenolic and polyurethane foams, exhibit various degrees of heat resistance. However, for each foam there is a point at which heat (as from an adjacent fire) begins to degrade the foam by softening the plastic and collapsing the cellular structure, warping blocks made of the foams, or burning the resin material. Such foams are frequently used as thermal insulations for buildings. However, their relatively low resistance to fire (heat) normally causes them to have rather low fire ratings as building materials. These low ratings in turn may prohibit use of the foams where fire code requirements are relatively stringent, or require builders to use supplemental means to obtain the necessary degree of fire resistance in buildings to comply with the fire codes.
It would be of advantage in many situations to have foams which have higher degrees of fire retardance and resistance such that foam insulations could be used more widely and there would be less need for supplemental fire retardant means.